For two years, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has operated without a substantive director general while the National Anti-Corruption Strategy expired 20 months ago, weakening the graft fight.
In separate interviews yesterday, accountability advocates and civil society leaders said the gaps, which include pending Lifestyle Audit Guidelines, threaten to compromise the anti-corruption framework at a time development partners are increasingly demanding accountability as a condition for support.
NACS II, which ran from 2019 to 2024, contained over 200 activities targeting prevention, enforcement and public education. The Malawi Government was expected to roll out NACS III in January 2025.
On the other hand, the position of ACB chief fell vacant on May 31 2024 after the expiry of the contract of Martha Chizuma.
National Anti-Corruption Alliance chairperson Michael Kaiyatsa said yesterday that the delays to address the gaps demonstrate a lack of urgency and commitment to the graft fight.
“Without a new national anti-corruption strategy, Malawi lacks a coordinated roadmap. Efforts become uncoordinated and less effective,” he said.
In a recent statement, Malawi Law Society president Davis Njobvu and honorary secretary Francis M’mame said “a serious fight against corruption must begin with the merit-based appointment of a substantive ACB director”.
“Acting appointments must not become the norm,” they said.
Their sentiments followed former president Lazarus Chakwera’s appointment of the then ACB deputy director Hillary Chilomba as acting chief to replace Chizuma. Following the change of government through the September 16 2025 General Election, President Peter Mutharika on October 31 2025 hired lawyer Gabriel Chembezi to head ACB, also in an acting capacity.
Interviews for a substantive ACB head were conducted on April 15 and 16 2026, with recommendations submitted to the President. However, to date, no appointment has been made.
Chembezi yesterday said in an interview that the drafting of the new strategy is complete.
“Validation is expected to conclude by September [this year] and the strategy scheduled for launch on December 9 to coincide with International Anti-Corruption Day,” he said.
Chembezi attributed the delays to inadequate resources, but said partners have been engaged to support validation.
Commenting on the delayed filling of the ACB top job, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs spokesperson Frank Namangale said the recruitment will be completed in the next two months.
“We have made sure that even when we have not yet appointed a DG, there is a competent acting DG so that key decisions continue to be made on time,” he said.
But anti-corruption compliance specialist Modester Mandala Gondwe, in an interview yesterday, argued that acting leadership cannot drive major reforms.
She said: “The [acting] office holder often lacks the security of tenure and executive authority needed to initiate politically sensitive investigations.
“Decisions made during an extended acting tenure are also more susceptible to legal challenges.”
In January 2026, ACB announced plans to extend lifestyle audits to private individuals. However, Cabinet returned the Lifestyle Audit Manual on November 7 2024, citing legal gaps in the Corrupt Practices Act (CPA).
Yesterday, Chembezi said government will now resubmit the manual covering public servants while CPA amendments continue.
“The targeted date of resubmission to the Ministry of Justice is Friday, August 7 2026,” he said.
But Gondwe warned that this leaves a loophole.
“Without clear, operationalised guidelines to audit assets inconsistent with known lawful income, illicit enrichment remains difficult to track and penalise,” she said.
Malawi’s standing has not improved in terms of graft fight with Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index giving the country a score of 34/100 since 2022. Scores below 50 are considered “highly corrupt”.
Recent Afrobarometer perception surveys have consistently found that at least two-thirds of Malawians believe corruption has been on the rise and more than half say government is doing a poor job fighting it.
In January last year, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to restart the process of recruiting the DG and disqualified Chilomba and Oscar Taulo from the race for falling short of legal requirements.
